Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Botswana - Lessons for the SADC Region

Abstract

This article critically examines various dimensions of poverty reduction inBotswana relative to SADC members. It has been argued that macro-economic, fi nancial and political stability; peace and security; accountable democratic governance and judicious use of mining resources havecontributed positively to Botswana’s spectacular growth and poverty reduction.The fi ndings also indicate that despite the shortcoming in the income distribution trends, the overall absolute poverty measured by HDI is above the average SADC index; as well as other measures such as head-count ratios, education ratios and GDP per capita. The article later provideslessons for SADC, especially members lagging behind in the examined aspects.